Foreigners sell U.S. Treasuries for 3rd month in January -data

NEW YORK, March 15 (Reuters) - Foreign investors sold U.S. Treasury bonds and notes for a third straight month in January, data from the U.S. Treasury department showed on Friday.

They sold $11.99 billion in Treasuries in January, compared with a record $77.35 billion the previous month, data showed.

Chinese holdings of U.S. Treasuries, meanwhile, increased in January for a second consecutive month to $1.126 trillion, from $1.123 trillion in December. The world’s second-largest economy remains the largest holder of U.S. Treasuries outside the United States. (Reporting by Gertrude Chavez-Dreyfuss; Editing by Dan Grebler)